Sharjah: Two of the most acclaimed publishing industry stalwarts, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, President of the International Publishers Association (IPA) and Mr. Markus Dohle, CEO of the largest trade book publisher – Random House, are set for a rendezvous at the 12th annual Publishers Conference, organized on the sidelines of the 41st Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF).
On November 1, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi and Mr. Dohle will engage in an exciting fireside chat on the emerging industry trends and share their expert visions of the future as they see it unfold.]
The marquee event will see both of them have a wide-ranging conversation on key industry themes including the changing market landscape and managing thorough industry challenges.
Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, who has leveraged her exemplary vision and global partnerships during her IPA presidency to design the InSPIRE initiative, an unprecedented and hugely successful strategy in bringing the global publishing community together to adopt a truly unified multi-stakeholder vision of the industry for the post-pandemic era, will interact with Mr. Dohle on important topics like digital transformation, freedom to publish, and diversity and inclusion.
As the CEO of Bertelsmann’s book publishing division Penguin Random House, Mr. Dohle has been a leader in global publishing for nearly 30 years.
Mr. Dohle has overseen transformative mergers, led Penguin Random House’s recovery from the global pandemic, and helped broker agreements that secured the rights to the memoirs of public figures like U2’s lead singer Bono and Michelle Obama.
As the publishing industry comes out of a pandemic to build a better, more resilient future for all, knowledge on how successful businesses are navigating challenges and undergoing digital transformations, will be key to industry-wide growth and recovery. Discussions and expertise exchange serve as the lifeblood of our industry, and now more than ever, we need to put our heads together to build a resilient, future-proof sector.
Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi remarked about the format of the event.
Sharing his remarks on his presence at the event, Mr. Markus Dohle, CEO, Random House, shared that, “I am deeply honored to have received an invitation to attend the Sharjah International Book Fair’s 12th annual Publishers Conference for a fireside conversation with Bodour Al Qasimi. I look forward to spending time in Sharjah and learning more about the long-term growth possibilities in the Gulf region, from increasing readership to publishing local voices. ‘’
12TH ANNUAL PUBLISHERS CONFERENCE
The 12th edition of the Publishers Conference will run its course from October 30 to November 1, in Expo Centre Sharjah, ahead of the inauguration of SIBF which will open the doors to its 41st edition in Expo Centre Sharjah with the slogan ‘Spread the Word’.
The 3-day conference will host over 12 discussions led by senior professionals and experts who will share their views on ways to capitalize on key emerging business trends in digital publishing and the audiobook market, discuss supply chain challenges and present solutions, and shine light on emerging opportunities in translations, multilingual publishing and popular genres like manga.